Terminals such as point-of-sale terminals have many applications. One of the most common is in retail transactions. Frequently upgrades to the software and/or hardware are made. Moreover, merchants have different functional configuration needs. Various approaches have been used to provide for upgrades to the software/hardware and reconfiguration of terminals. However, this typically is a time consuming process and often requires the purchase of new and different hardware and software.
There is a need for a modular point-of-sale terminal which readily allows upgrades to be made and the terminal to be readily reconfigured with different functional capabilities. The present invention solves these problems and other problems associated with existing point-of-sale terminals.